1. Field of the Invention
The invention is a process for producing double-oxide compounds such as lithium niobate and lithium tantalate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Double oxides such as lithium niobate and lithium tantalate are usually produced by mixing the individual single oxides together (Li.sub.2 O and Nb.sub.2 O.sub.5 for LiNbO.sub.3) and heating to a temperature where these individual oxides react to form the double oxide. Although care is often taken to insure good mixing of the individual oxides, exact stoichiometry is often not obtained. In addition, certain single oxides may be lost through volatilization which also disturbs the stoichiometry of the double oxide. For many applications exact stoichiometry is particularly important. Also extremely fine and reasonably uniform particle size is advantageous in the production of devices employing double oxide compounds. This is particularly true in the fabrication of melt phase epitaxial films where small particle size and uniform particle size permit growth of smooth films.